Some time ago I posted about driving home and thinking of Larry Meyer, so deep in memories of my own campus ministry experiences that I'd sometimes drive past the turn to my street without stopping. Today I had another "Larry" moment, but of a different type.
A student called just after lunch to see if I could sit down for a chat for a while. "Of course," I said, and the student came and we talked. The subject is only important to me and the student, but in the course of the conversation I caught myself doing things I remembered Larry doing in smilar conversations we shared over the years I called him "my pastor."
I even caught myself in a Larry "pose:" leaning back in my chair, legs crossed, hands clasped behind my head - all done unconsciously, mind you. Sort of like this picture, but without the smile (it wasn't a smiley kind of talk).
It's been a great first weekend to the semester. There were 39 people in worship yesterday, which may not seem like much until you figure the first Sunday I preached here we had 12 students in attendance. But the numbers in worship aren't as important as the feeling that maybe I am making a difference here, and my conversation today was every bit as important as the 39 who came yesterday. You can't have one without the other if you're going to do this ministry thing right, and for today, at least, it feels like the Spirit and I are getting it done right. Soli Deo Gloria.
A student called just after lunch to see if I could sit down for a chat for a while. "Of course," I said, and the student came and we talked. The subject is only important to me and the student, but in the course of the conversation I caught myself doing things I remembered Larry doing in smilar conversations we shared over the years I called him "my pastor."
I even caught myself in a Larry "pose:" leaning back in my chair, legs crossed, hands clasped behind my head - all done unconsciously, mind you. Sort of like this picture, but without the smile (it wasn't a smiley kind of talk). It's been a great first weekend to the semester. There were 39 people in worship yesterday, which may not seem like much until you figure the first Sunday I preached here we had 12 students in attendance. But the numbers in worship aren't as important as the feeling that maybe I am making a difference here, and my conversation today was every bit as important as the 39 who came yesterday. You can't have one without the other if you're going to do this ministry thing right, and for today, at least, it feels like the Spirit and I are getting it done right. Soli Deo Gloria.
When reading of your campus ministry adventures, it always makes me think back to our beloved LSC. We can totally relate to your 'still missing Larry!' I'm so thankful for that time and all of the people there! How exciting that things are going so well for you in Iowa! God is good!
ReplyDeleteFunny how we pick up those little mannerisms from our mentors. Dr. Paul Brand tells of seeing a student he was training sit by a bedside exactly the same way that Dr. Brand's mentor did. When he pointed it out to the student, the student laughed and said, "that's exactly how you sit by every bedside I've seen you sit by." Dr. Brand had unwittingly and unkowingly been imitating his mentor's mannerisms for forty years and never knew it.
ReplyDeleteMaybe this is how the imitation of Christ is spread down through the ages.
Blessings on your new school year.